Mini 2 African Safari- Final images-group 18

Dale D · Oct 27, 2021

All things must come to an end! So here we are, leaving our camp in the far western part of Kenya. Images of our breakfast at the edge of the Mara River, the main camp tents, the landing strip including our wonderful Maasai driver Dennis and our amazingly brilliant Maasai guide, Judy (both dressed in full native attire), and our Safarilink 12 passenger flight to Nairobi to connect to Qatar flight and Doha, then JFK and Miami 2 days later. Hope you all have enjoyed this. Now the real works starts! Expect to wait at least a month for the video which will include timelapses of sunrises, sunsets, and other scenes, and videos of other events, especially the amazing migration crossing. Some allowable drone footage allowed in camps only.

Dennis-Carol- Judy- driver and guide.jpg

Phantomrain.org · Oct 27, 2021

No doubt it was a Fascinating trip , I look forward to the video Dale.

If someone were to go there is the a better time to go than others. When I think of this place images of animals and flys and a tree always come to mind . I think you need to be Fearless of snakes at least lol

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain.

Deleted member 103366 · Oct 27, 2021

That tent is posher than my house lol

Dale D · Oct 27, 2021

Phantomrain.org said:
No doubt it was a Fascinating trip , I look forward to the video Dale.

If someone were to go there is the a better time to go than others. When I think of this place images of animals and flys and a tree always come to mind . I think you need to be Fearless of snakes at least lol

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain.

Phanthom Rain:

There is a whole spread sheet to determine when to go there. All of the African travel agencies use it. The high season (e.g.: costing the most $$$) is July, August, and September. There is little rain, so the animals collect around water holes where they are easier seen. In the rainy season, there is water and high grass all over the place where the animals hide. You really don't want to be there then. January and February and March are cold and rainy. You can get away with a cheaper trip by going in the shoulder season (e.g.: October). If you want to see the wildebeests drop their newborns, go in early spring (February). Also, these times are different in each country, and in those countries farther from the equator. In my mind, Kenya is the REAL Africa. I would go there first. South Africa is sort of quasi-Africa. My second choice would be Botswana, but it is the highest costing country to go on safari with the most upscale camps. Tanzania is one of the poorest countries with the least luxurious camps and have tons of Tse Tse flies. Do your homework and use a highly recommended safari company that only does Africa.

As far as trees go, tourists are not allowed to be outside the vehicle, except for the lunch stop which is carefully chosen to be in the open plains to see approaching predators.

Dale

Phantomrain.org · Oct 27, 2021

Those Tse Tse itsy bitsy flies has kept me from ever thinking about a trip to Africa so this is a real change in perspective . Can you talk about the Congo where ashely just broke her leg and barely survived is that on the Tse Tse list also ? lol

Dale D · Oct 27, 2021

Phantomrain.org said:
Those Tse Tse itsy bitsy flies has kept me from ever thinking about a trip to Africa so this is a real change in perspective . Can you talk about the Congo where ashely just broke her leg and barely survived is that on the Tse Tse list also ? lol

They are mostly in Tanzania, and they are not the sleeping sickness kind. My wife got really badly bitten up on a previous trip to Tanzania, and again this time. They go through heavy socks, pants, etc. Terrible itching and sores and you scratch so bad you bleed. It gets infected and the legs well She took several weeks to get over it, No real problem with them elsewhere we have been. We've been to the DRC (you cannot go there now unless you want to be kidnapped for ransom). We went to see th lowland gorillas, along with Uganda and Rwanda.

Phantomrain.org · Oct 27, 2021

Dale D said:
They are mostly in Tanzania, and they are not the sleeping sickness kind. My wife got really badly bitten up on a previous trip to Tanzania, and again this time. They go through heavy socks, pants, etc. Terrible itching and sores and you scratch so bad you bleed. It gets infected and the legs well She took several weeks to get over it, No real problem with them elsewhere we have been. We've been to the DRC (you cannot go there now unless you want to be kidnapped for ransom). We went to see th lowland gorillas, along with Uganda and Rwanda.

LOL : Ok than, so put it on the list , now taking it back off. LOL thank you.

Mavic Maxwell · Oct 28, 2021

I opened this today with the anticipation of the cat that ate cheese whilst awaiting around corners for unsuspecting mice!
Wow ... deluxe Safari tent not envisaged.
Lovely collection of shots, though sadly of the closing memories of one of your best safaris.
Looking forward to the final production (will that be a 30 day or 31 day month? No pressure LOL).
Coincidentally or not (knowing Google Discovery Ads) this came up this morning on my phone.
Makes an interesting read summarising the Wildebeest migration with accompaniment of animals (symbiotic and predatory). However, although the photos are good they lack the quality of a professional i.e. a Dr with a camera.
I await with interest your production (with some drone footage) and I will now stop the exsufflation of cheesy breath in your direction!

Wildebeest Migration - Guide with Month-by-Month Map

Dale D · Oct 28, 2021

Mavic Maxwell said:
I opened this today with the anticipation of the cat that ate cheese whilst awaiting around corners for unsuspecting mice!
Wow ... deluxe Safari tent not envisaged.
Lovely collection of shots, though sadly of the closing memories of one of your best safaris.
Looking forward to the final production (will that be a 30 day or 31 day month? No pressure LOL).
Coincidentally or not (knowing Google Discovery Ads) this came up this morning on my phone.
Makes an interesting read summarising the Wildebeest migration with accompaniment of animals (symbiotic and predatory). However, although the photos are good they lack the quality of a professional i.e. a Dr with a camera.
I await with interest your production (with some drone footage) and I will now stop the exsufflation of cheesy breath in your direction!

Wildebeest Migration - Guide with Month-by-Month Map

Maxwell
I KNOW you are waiting with baited breath for the video, so here is a progress report-This morning, after breakfast and other necessities I sat down at the iMAC and opened Premiere Pro, and besides breaks I have been here all day. For the record, 7 straight hours. For this I am able to report 3 minutes of show already. I have already edited the first and second travel day and the first two days of the safari! So not bad progress in my opinion. Tomorrow will be a NO computer day since I have other tasks, but you can be assured that all day Saturday and Sunday I'll be working on it. Already, several drone shots. To tell you the honest truth- I really am not liking the Mini 2 although everyone raves about it. Sure wish I had taken my Mavic 2 Pro but was afraid of confiscation, or loss and extra weight. I just cannot easily adjust the exposures and the darn thing has no variable shutter which really irks me.

Those migration charts are used by all of the people running African Safari tours, along with spread sheets of best times for each country for rains, temperatures, game viewing, etc.

Finally, you must certainly kidding. That tent was anything but luxe. You will see some better digs on the video at the other camps and lodges.

Mavic Maxwell · Oct 28, 2021

Don't overdo it Dale. I have just been ....

I understand M2P is superior but just do the best with what you took.
We are heading for a "Luxury Eco Friendly Safari Tent" experience in our famous wine region at the Barossa Valley (a full hours drive from Adelaide). Would gladly swap the comfort for your gritty experience.

MAVE (Little bird) · Oct 28, 2021

Dale D said:
All things must come to an end! So here we are, leaving our camp in the far western part of Kenya. Images of our breakfast at the edge of the Mara River, the main camp tents, the landing strip including our wonderful Maasai driver Dennis and our amazingly brilliant Maasai guide, Judy (both dressed in full native attire), and our Safarilink 12 passenger flight to Nairobi to connect to Qatar flight and Doha, then JFK and Miami 2 days later. Hope you all have enjoyed this. Now the real works starts! Expect to wait at least a month for the video which will include timelapses of sunrises, sunsets, and other scenes, and videos of other events, especially the amazing migration crossing. Some allowable drone footage allowed in camps only.

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Very nice Dale, thanks for sharing these great pictures.

Dale D · Oct 28, 2021

Mavic Maxwell said:
Don't overdo it Dale. I have just been ....

View attachment 137427
I understand M2P is superior but just do the best with what you took.
We are heading for a "Luxury Eco Friendly Safari Tent" experience in our famous wine region at the Barossa Valley (a full hours drive from Adelaide). Would gladly swap the comfort for your gritty experience.

MAVE (Little bird) said:
Very nice Dale, thanks for sharing these great pictures.

What part of Michigan?? My wife is from Detroit and I was married there and went to U. of Michigan/

Phantomrain.org · Oct 28, 2021

7 hours editing 3 minutes of video

lol Is there anywhere you cannot fly your drone there ?

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain.

Dale D · Oct 28, 2021

Phantomrain.org said:
7 hours editing 3 minutes of video lol Is there anywhere you cannot fly your drone there ?

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain.

Not really understanding that sentence.

Firstly, as you know, to get a great image you need to shoot a lot of images. So I probably have 30 or 40 images for everyone I used. I use the sorting function of Adobe Bridge, which is like a light box for transparencies. I delete,delete, delete, until I get down to the best of the 30 or 40 images and then the best of those gets saved, edited in ACR and Photoshop and put into the assets folder for later insertion into the show.

Secondly, you cannot fly most places in the Serengeti (Tanzania) or Maasai Mara (Kenya) because they are national parks, it disturbs the animals, and bothers other guests. My drone footage therefore was strictly limited to the camp I was staying at, and those flights were STEALTH. E.g.: fast take off, gain altitude, fly out and away and fly back without dawdling. I did get a little blow back from the camp directors but not any warnings not to fly. On safari, you are not allowed to step outside of the vehicle at any time (as one guide told me, "your vacation would be over very fast.").

So, in summary, very limited drone footage, but plenty of other video in the show coming up.

Dale

Phantomrain.org · Oct 28, 2021

Dale D said:
Not really understanding that sentence.

Firstly, as you know, to get a great image you need to shoot a lot of images. So I probably have 30 or 40 images for everyone I used. I use the sorting function of Adobe Bridge, which is like a light box for transparencies. I delete,delete, delete, until I get down to the best of the 30 or 40 images and then the best of those gets saved, edited in ACR and Photoshop and put into the assets folder for later insertion into the show.

Secondly, you cannot fly most places in the Serengeti (Tanzania) or Maasai Mara (Kenya) because they are national parks, it disturbs the animals, and bothers other guests. My drone footage therefore was strictly limited to the camp I was staying at, and those flights were STEALTH. E.g.: fast take off, gain altitude, fly out and away and fly back without dawdling. I did get a little blow back from the camp directors but not any warnings not to fly. On safari, you are not allowed to step outside of the vehicle at any time (as one guide told me, "your vacation would be over very fast.").

So, in summary, very limited drone footage, but plenty of other video in the show coming up.

Dale

So that makes sense, than it really was the better move to take the Mini despite the tech challenges of the mini and leave the Mavic 2 pro at home, I thought maybe Kenya was so remote that it was not part of the National parks .

Dale D · Oct 28, 2021

Phantomrain.org said:
So that makes sense, than it really was the better move to take the Mini despite the tech challenges of the mini and leave the Mavic 2 pro at home, I thought maybe Kenya was so remote that it was not part of the National parks .

Kenya is not remote! Nairobi is a huge, pulsating, vibrant city. The parks are amazing, and I consider Kenya, the "real" Africa. They have huge, and wonderful game parks like Amboseli, Tsavo, Aberdare, Meru, Maasai Mara, etc. Their lodges are some of the finest in the world. They are not as third world or as poor as Tanzania considering wealth, industry, roads, etc.

As far as the mini2 goes, I am ready to put it on the market.